Weekly Reads: Waste of Space

Waste of Space is a book that popped up on my radar as a really fun story with an obnoxious reality tv show storyline. I think I stopped reading there, and put it on hold at my library. It was told in a really cool format, and I really loved it to start. It got a bit slow in the middle of the story, but then had a pretty intense finale. A good read if you're looking for a fun teen read.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:

Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that’s the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama—and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. Hidden in a desert warehouse, their spaceship replica is equipped with state-of-the-art special effects dreamed up by the scientists partnering with the shady cable network airing the show. And it’s a hit! Millions of viewers are transfixed. But then, suddenly, all communication is severed. Trapped and paranoid, the kids must figure out what to do when this reality show loses its grip on reality. 

Weekly Reads: History is All You Left Me

History Is All You Left Me is the newest book by Adam Silvera. I adored his previous book More Happy Than Not. (My review for that here.) I loved this story. Many teen books deal with death and dying, but typically that is the culmination of the story. It is more rare for the story to delve into the grieving process, and I appreciated the way this book took that on, especially as I'm currently still dealing with grief myself. The book would've gotten 5 stars, but the end was a little too neat and tidy for me.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Summary from goodreads:


When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.

To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.

If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

Weekly Reads: Fall of the Butterfly

The Fall of Butterfliesis the newest book by Andrea Portes. I absolutely loved her debut novel Anatomy of a Misfit, and couldn't wait to read her new one. I'm always a sucker for books that are set in a boarding school, so I was excited when that's where this one took place. This book was so captivating, and I read it in a small handful of days.



My rating: 4 stars

Summary from goodreads:

Willa Parker, 646th and least popular resident of What Cheer, Iowa, is headed east to start a new life.

Did she choose this new life? No, because that would be too easy—and nothing in Willa’s life is easy. It’s her famous genius mother’s idea to send her to ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive Pembroke Prep, and it’s only the strength of her name that got Willa accepted in the first place.

But Willa has no intentions of fitting in at Pembroke. She’s not staying long, she decides. Not at this school—and not on this planet. But when she meets peculiar, glittering Remy Taft, the richest, most mysterious girl on campus, she starts to see a foothold in this foreign world—a place where she could maybe, possibly, sort of fit.

When Willa looks at Remy, she sees a girl who has everything. But for Remy, having everything comes at a price. And as she spirals out of control, Willa can feel her spinning right out of her grasp.

In Willa’s secret heart, all she’s ever wanted is to belong. But if Remy, the girl who gave her this world, is slip-sliding away, is Willa meant to follow her down?

Andrea Portes’s incandescent, heartfelt novel explores the meaning of friendship, new beginnings, and the precarious joy and devastating pain of finding home in a place—a person—with wings.

Weekly Reads: All the Bright Places

All the Bright Places is a book I've heard a ton of buzz about this year as a Printz award contender, and an all around amazing young adult book. While I don't think it's quite on the Printz award track, that doesn't mean that it's not a spectacular, heart felt, gut wrenching book that teens are going to devour. It was amazingly written and I felt entirely destroyed upon completing it, as any YA book should leave you, right?

Sidenote: After tracking down the summary from goodreads, I now see this is going to be a movie with Elle Fanning. Meaning get yourself on the hold list for this book (or buy it through my amazon links provided, so I can have a few cents of the purchase) before the hold lists gets out of control as it does when a new movie gets announced!

My rating: 5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
 
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
 
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
 
This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

Weekly Reads: My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories is an awesome book to get you into the holiday spirit! I received an e-ARC of this book to read and review honestly, and promote to my library customers if I enjoyed it.

I'm normally not a huge fan of short stories, because I feel like as soon as I get into the story, boom it's over. But I didn't feel like that with these short stories. Ok, I wished a few of them went much much longer, but I was still satisfied by them and their endings. My favorites were Stephanie Perkins' and Rainbow Rowell's. This is a great read for a wintery December day.

My rating: 4 stars.


Summary from goodreads:

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.